World Series: Red Sox fans are ready for Fenway clinch

Police dogs howl in anticipation. The champagne is on ice. Duck Boats are ready to roll.

And the beards have all grown longer overnight.

Wednesday night the Red Sox can clinch a World Series championship at home for the first time since 1918. (And, by the way, the tough-luck losing pitcher for the Chicago Cubs in the decisive Game 6 at Fenway Park 95 years ago was Lefty Tyler, who later settled in Lowell and is buried in St. Patrick Cemetery off Gorham Street. He lost 2-1 on a two-run error.)

Remember way-way-way back — oh, 11 years ago or so — back when what has become an insignificant number, 1918, inspired a million taunts inside Yankee Stadium and haunted Red Sox fans into always bracing for heartbreak, even when everything looked as great as it looks right now. The last time the Red Sox were up 3-2 in a World Series, Bill Buckner happened.

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But nobody wallows anymore in such history that has no bearing on present Game 6 matters. And for good Duck-Boat reasons. The Red Sox are oh-so close to their third World Series title in 10 years, which would be the most titles by any team during that stretch (while the Cardinals’ hopes of winning their second title in three years and third in eight years are diminishing).

The Red Sox seem a good bet to finish the job so long as they are not required to make any throws to third base at critical times.

Work still needs to be done before New Englanders go dancing in the streets. Standing 6-foot-6 tall in Boston’s way to celebrating Wednesday night is Cardinals 22-year-old gas-throwing phenom Michael Wacha, who is 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his first postseason.

While Wacha was the winning pitcher in Game 2 at Fenway, the relentless Red Sox made the phenom look more fallible than did the Pirates and Dodgers during the NL playoffs. Wacha over six innings last Thursday during a 4-2 victory had to throw a career-high 114 pitches (and such precious young arms must be handled cautiously) and walked four while allowing two runs on a David Ortiz (who else?) home run.

John Lackey, whose rehabilitated image achieved through better health and better pitching best symbolizes the Red Sox restoring their followers’ faith this season, is expected to take the ball for the Red Sox on Wednesday.

Be warned, however. Baseball has a way of turning cruel when you least expect it. A Game 7 would be treacherous. Though it would be all-hands-on-deck in the pitching department, one assumes the Red Sox would start Jake Peavy, whose 9.27 career postseason ERA over 22.1 innings belies his doggedness.

The Cardinals’ slotted starter for Game 7 is Joe Kelly, who allowed two runs on two hits over 5.1 innings (3 bb, 6k) in that Game 3 in St. Louis that ended with Allen Craig tripping over Will Middlebrooks and all hell breaking loose. (Game 7 starters, if it comes to that, haven’t been officially announced.)

Seeing the Belichickian manner in which the Red Sox (except for Peavy) put behind them that obstruction call that bizarrely, yet correctly, handed the Cardinals a victory in Game 3, this series now has an air of Boston Strong inevitability about it.

Jonny Gomes, in the starting lineup only because Shane Victorino’s back ached, hit a decisive three-run home in Game 4. Catcher David Ross, in the lineup for a second straight game because of the dark cloud is hovering over Jarrod Saltalamacchia in this Series, and because Ross and Jon Lester have a good rapport going, delivered the go-ahead ground-rule double in Game 5.

There is a ring of destiny to all this. The Red Sox now stand one victory from joining the 1991 Minnesota Twins as the only other team ever to go from last place one season to World Series champion the next — though 10 of the players on Boston’s 25-man World Series roster and manager John Farrell weren’t under contract to the Red Sox last season.

If the Red Sox had a sense of humor, they would ask Sacred Heart University athletic director Bobby Valentine to throw out the ceremonial first pitch Wednesday night.